The Time Traveler
by ANNAinDreamland
Summary: All I wanted to do was save my mother. Instead, I'm stuck in 1942. The era of quiet and polite women, modest knee length skirts and most importantly, the time of the the darkest wizard of all time. As a teen. But to save my mother, I can't just save her.
1. The Death of One Loved

Chapter One

x

The Death of One Loved

It wasn't the incoherent words that woke me up, it was the shaking. Someone was shaking my shoulders gently, pulling me from the deep sleep of nothingness. A groan escaped my mouth and I weakly pushed away the arms away with a thin hand, just to let it fall limply back on the red and gold covers. They were soft and warm, perfect for falling asleep in... If one could sleep. The hands persisted to shake me.

"'O 'ay," I mumbled into the pillow. All I wanted was to fall back into the numbness of my brain, back into deep sleep. And what a nice sleep it would be, if only I wasn't being bothered. The shaking didn't stop, though. In fact, the shaking increased and the words grew louder. "Ugh." What mad girl in their mind was up at this hour?

"-up, Dobbs!" My brain must have been waking up for I caught the male voice calling my name.

My eyes snapped open, suddenly wide awake. There was a male in the girls' dormitory. That didn't make sense, though. Boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitory. They couldn't even get up the stairs for Merlin's sake! My heart started beating faster before I even realized I was panicked. Something was wrong if there was a male here.

I jerked up in the bed, flinging a hand up to my eyes to protect it from a small light and blinked tears away. I sat up and pushed the covers off of my body, swinging my legs to the ground. The ground felt cold against my bare feet. "What's wrong?" I asked urgently, not bothering to keep my voice down and the panic out of my words. Another girl in the darkness whined in protest.

"There's an emergency, Dobbs," The voice stressed kindly but this time, my eyes adjusted to the darkness with the help of the light, and I saw the body. He was short for a male and clothed himself in a green robe. Details blended into the darkness but I recognized the voice. Professor Longbottom, head of the Gryffindor house. "We need to go to the headmaster, now."

Cold sweat. That's what I felt. I couldn't move from the bed. I sat, gripping the covers with my hands. "What's going on?" I asked, afraid to get the words out, afraid of the answer. If they were only waking me up, just a normal fifth year, not even a prefect, then it was something personal. Something had happened. Oh, Merlin. What if my mother was in St. Mungo's? I knew I shouldn't have trusted her when she said wasn't so ill. I should have forced her to the hospital but after a stay that occurred years ago, she no longer cared for hospitals.

"Put your shoes on, please. I'll explain when we get to Headmaster Bagnold," He spoke calmly, as if he was wishing to calm me but I heard the alarm in his vice. While the tone was calm, the words came out too fast, as if maybe if he said it quickly, it would be true or maybe in hopes I would believe it. Merlin, she must be in St. Mungo's. Someone must be.

I didn't search for socks. Instead, I practically sprung from the bed and went straight for the nearest pair of shoes, tugging them on and not bother with straps or laces. Without thinking, I grabbed for my wand on my bedside. It was like a crutch. With the wand on me, nothing could go wrong. There would always be a way to fix things with magic.

xxx

It was the first time I had ever been in the headmaster's office. Never before had there been a reason for me to stand in here, good or bad. I was struck by the simplicity of the room. Of course there was a desk with papers on top and closed cabinets but that was really all. There were no personal knickknacks, photographs of friends or family and everything was neat and orderly. The only outstanding part of it was the portraits that lined the walls.

The three of us in that room, the headmaster, Professor Longbottom and I, were surrounded by these portraits of all the past headmasters and headmistresses. Most were sleeping, dozing at the late hour but there were a couple nosy ones. They were pretending to sleep but their faces too focused towards eyes, eyelids flickered too much.

Headmaster Bagnold looked too strange sitting in front of the elegant wood desk, with its carved legs and his sapphire blue sleeping robes. His usually sharp eyes looked weary, dark circles appearing around the watery eyes. I must have looked just as much out of place. Too lazy I had been last night to change out of my uniform so I slept in a crumpled plaid skirt and plain button up shirt. But here I was, gripping the aspen wand in my hand, refusing to sit.

"Please sit down, Elisa," Professor Longbottom called out somewhere behind me. But again, I shook my head and stared straight at the headmaster. He just sighed, perhaps thinking I was being stubborn. That wasn't it, though. The only way I kept my legs from shaking was keeping them straight and I couldn't move them for fear of falling down.

I couldn't open my mouth either. My tongue, dry from sleep and fear stuck to the top of my mouth. Through brown bangs, I looked at the headmaster, begging for an answer. In my five years of Hogwarts, I've never heard of someone being called to the Headmaster's office. Sure, there was the occasional pranks and fighting between people but nothing severe enough to be called to a headmaster.

Longbottom must have moved to place me on a chair because a hand touched my upper arm then Bagnold shook his head slightly. The hand receeded. All was quiet until the headmaster took a breath of air.

"I'm so sorry," He said to me, his face twisting with pity and regret. Too much I realized and then it occurred to me it was worse than I thought. A buzz filled my ears. Low and too silent to drown anything out. "Your mother, Emma Dobbs, died earlier this week."

It was so strange, as my legs collapsed below me, my first thought was, 'I should have sat down'. Not 'My dear mother,' or 'How could this happen?' or 'What happened?' But, 'I should have sat down'.

Clumsy fingers snatched at my arms and shirt but I slipped through, butt landing straight on the ground with a thud and my wand clattering to the ground. "No!" I yelled out. Around me, portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses jumped awake and made noises of protest. One struck out to me. It was his blue eyes behind glasses that I noticed, that looked upon me, as if staring into me. Professor Longbottom made to help me up but I pushed his hands away, making no move to stand up. He leaned back, startled at my outburst, peeking at Bagnold who just glanced at him.

Longbottom pulled back and didn't move. Neither did I. My body was numb and I could barely feel the stone floor beneath me. "Dobbs," Bagnold said. "Later today," Today. Today was supposed to be the last Hogsmeade trip of the year. "We're sending you back home to your grandparents for awhile. At least until after the funeral. We understand if you need to take time off for school and I'll inform your professors to give you extra time to make up homework."

Listening to all if this, I just sat on the ground making no move to get up. It was just like the world stopped and everything moved slower and was dimmer. Like the world stopped spinning and the sun stopped shining. My head felt empty and heavy at the same time, as if waking up from some deep slumber but I wasn't going to wake up this time.

"How?" My voice was hoarse and the word cracked slightly at the end. Tears stung my eyes but I couldn't cry here. I was a Gryffindor. I was stronger than this. But, Merlin. What if she died because no one was there to care for her? The head of Gryffindor and the headmaster glanced at one another. "How... How did she...?" I couldn't say the word.

"We don't really know what happened to Miss Dobbs. It seems that someone, probably a wizard, broke into her apartment. It appears that someone might have used the Killing Curse on her. A coworker went to check up on her when she kept missing work. There were no signs of struggle," Professor Longbottom told me. A small cry escaped from my mouth. The Killing Curse? Who in the hell would use a killing curse on her? "The Ministry is still looking into it."

Bagnold spoke more. Or he must have. I sat on that floor for a while, at least, refusing to be helped up and refusing to move. But then, I was dismissed and soon, Longbottom had my arm, gently walking me through the empty halls of Hogwarts. The only sounds around were our footsteps and the snores of sleeping portraits. There were hardly even any ghosts around, minus the Bloody Baron and a young female ghost next to him. She was the one who always looked so sad.

Or maybe the world sped up, maybe that's what happened. Everything was a blur. The office, the headmaster, the walk back from the office. All I really remember with clarity was Professor Longbottom's words to me, right before I stepped through the Fat Lady's portrait.

"There are few worst things in life then losing a parent young," He told me, words filled with sadness and understanding. "It's something we never really get over."

xxx

I didn't cry until I closed the ruby curtains around the bed and a good Silencing Charm had been set. Then I cried, even when it felt like my eyes would tear out of my head. When it felt like no more tears could possibly come from my eyes, more did. It wasn't until I had completely exhausted myself out that I stopped. Even, then, though, sleep wouldn't come.

As my face pressed into the cotton pillow to absorb the once shed tears, all I could do was think. It must be my paternal grandparents that were coming. Once I had been conceived, communication between my mother and her parents had ceased. They weren't bad people from what I understood, they just had their problems. I wonder if they even knew about their daughter's death. I wonder if they had even thought about what would happen to me.

Which led to more thinking. My muggle father had died before I was born. A car had hit him on his way to work and he didn't even get to know my mother was pregnant. Instead, Emma told his parents but they never knew I was a witch. They thought I went to some fancy boarding school on scholarship. I would have to tell them what I was. There was no way around it, considering how hard it would be to hide my summer homework, textbooks, cauldrons and potions supplies.

If they did not approve... I couldn't leave Hogwarts now that it was my only home left. I would be abandoned if they didn't accept me. I would have nowhere to go.

Suddenly, I had to get out of this bed, out of this dorm room. I needed to walk and to pace, to think and calm my mind. Setting my feet on the cool floor, I whipped open the curtain, causing a slight flutter near my bed stand. A small paper landed next to my feet and frowning, I picked it up and turned it over. A face peered back and a smile came onto my face.

It was the card from the Chocolate Frog Dominique Weasley gave me just hours before I went to bed. She was a pretty, nice girl in the year above me. I didn't know her too well so it was even kinder of her to give it to me. I had mentioned how I couldn't wait to get chocolate from Honeydukes later the next day and Dominique had handed me this.

Squinting my swollen eyes in the dark, I grabbed my wand and whispered, "Lumos." I had barely glanced at the card when I first got it, more preoccupied with the frog that nearly ran off. The small light was enough to read the words now. The head of gray hair and gray beard looked upon me and my lips twitched at the name.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Every wizard and witch, and even other magical beings, knew of him. He had died when my mother was still fairly young, only in her third year here. Every time he is mentioned, it is nearly always in praise. Whether it was his brains, being a headmaster of Hogwarts, founder of the Order of the Phoenix or one of the pivotal fighters in bringing down Lord Voldemort and other Death Eaters, he was praised.

Blue eyes twinkled at me through half-moon glasses and I froze. Just an hour or so earlier I had seen the same eyes, eyes that truly saw me. This man was one of the most brilliant wizards of all time and I hadn't even recognized him. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. If anyone knew how to make someone be alive again, it would be him.

The card dropped out of my hand I broke out into a run, past the other girls and slamming through the door. Someone yelled in protest but I didn't stop. I continued down the curved stairs and into the common room, with a fire nearly out. Swinging the Fat Lady, I came to the base of Gryffindor Tower and raced down the stairs to the second floor.

I knew I should have been quieter but only Filch and his cat were out, nothing I was worried about and it wouldn't be my first detention for sneaking out. He would only get Professor Longbottom, who I'm sure would understand. So, I raced down the castle. I ran past the boys' bathroom on the sixth floor, shoes pounding against the marble. Sometimes, I had to make a detour, Howgarts being too convoluted to have stairs straight from each floor.

Instead, I passed by the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor, through the corridor that had once been dubbed the Forbidden Corridor on the third and finally down the stairs to the second floor. That was when I reached the empty corridor with the stone gargoyle, the entrance to the headmaster's office.

My hands placed themselves on my knees for a second to catch my breath. I was a bit out of air running throughout the castle but it had all be down stairs running. After panting in a couple breaths of air, I straightened and stared at the menacing stone figure before me.

I repeated the password that just hours ago, Professor Longbottom had spoken. "Discedo," I spoke clearly so that I would say the password right, without gasping for air. The gargoyle turned and moved from its position, allowing me to slip through the stairs to the office.

This was technically not breaking and entering, I told myself. I had given the right password and dutifully, the gargoyle allowed me inside. The steps echoed in the tiny corridor up to the office and then I paused at the entrance, glancing into the room. It would not be so great for me if the headmaster was here but he was gone, the room left the same way, though.

I made my way to the portrait of the deceased headmaster and started up at him. His glasses slipped to the tip of the nose as he slept in an oversized armchair. I cleared my throat. "You're Albus Dumbledore, correct?" I asked, hoping this would wake him up. As I thought, blue eyes peered underneath eyelids and he smiled at me.

"Yes, I am," He replied back with a kindly look on his face. "I am sorry to hear about your mother, Miss Dobbs, I believe." I nodded. He must have heard my name from earlier. "The headmaster isn't here now. Perhaps you should get some sleep and come from him later."

My head shook, strands of brown hair swinging in my face. "It's not him I'm looking for. I was wishing to talk to you," I took a deep breath and launched into my speech, hoping there was something he could do. "I need your help. I want to change this but I don't know how. No spells I know could go back in time or revive the dead. There are time-turners but I could never get my hands on one. Surely you must know of something!"

The old man's wrinkled face turned to one of pity and sadness. I scoffed, looking away and trying to blink tears out of my eyes. "Changing what happened could affect what was meant to be. If I knew of a way to help, it could potentially be hazardous to do so." I expected the answer to be no because he didn't know, not because it could be 'hazardous'.

"Haven't you ever had someone close to you that you wanted to save?" I snapped at him, clenching both of my fists. "If there was a way, wouldn't you do the same? Dangerous or not? She's all I really have and I can handle the consequences!" I glared up to the man in the portrait. Outside, I may have looked strong or mad but inside, I was pleading for his help. He sighed and something broke a little. I had to choke back tears. "P-please."

"The repercussions could be out of your hand," He told me but I brought my hand away from my mouth to speak.

"I'm a Gryffindor witch," I explained to Dumbledore. "I may not be the smartest but I'm courageous and I do my best. Whatever happens, I will take all ramifications for what happens. But as a human being, if I can save someone, I will!" I don't know why I told him this. It was most likely he didn't know what could be done. Perhaps I just wanted to justify my actions and what I wanted to do.

"Elisa Dobbs," He spoke to me, staring at me as before. Straight into my soul. "I have made many mistakes in my life but now I've passed on. I'm just a portrait. Perhaps this, too, is a mistake." I blinked, puzzled by what he was trying to save. I knew what I wanted to do was possibly a mistake but I did not believe in fate or such things. I opened my mouth to protest but the deceased man continued on. "I only know of time turners myself but they are hard to come by."

Hope drained out of me. I knew it was a long shot but he had been Albus Dumbledore, one of two men the dark Lord Voldemort had been afraid of. He was the one who defeated Grindlewald.

"However," My head perked up as he was clearly not finished speaking. "There is a room in Howgarts that may be more help than me. Figure out what it is you want then go to the seventh floor corridor, opposite of the wall with Barnabas the Barmy. There, think of what it is you want and as you do, walk up and down the corridor three times. Then the Room of Requirement should appear and aid you in what you need."

If it had been anybody other than one of the greatest wizards alive, I may have doubted him. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" I turned to leave. "I promise I'll do my best to fix whatever I may change." And this I was serious. Dumbledore was kind enough to help me and this was the way I could pay him back.

"Albus!" A woman from another portrait exclaimed. "I cannot believe what you just did. The consequences of this action could be severe!" I bristled but there was nothing the woman in the portrait could do.

"Elisa!" He called me back and I turned to the portrait. "Just remember, the Room of Requirement can only give you what already exists. I'm not sure if it would have a time turner." I nodded, barely hearing what he was saying and ran out of the room, back to the second door corridor. "Now, now, Minerva," I barely heard him say as I left. "This is no longer our time for action or words."

Then, the gargoyle closed behind me. Ironically enough, I had to go close back to where this night began. I had to go back up through all the stairs and corridors but this time, I would be going through another section of the seventh floor. It was not one I was as familiar with, the tapestry of a wizard teaching trolls to dance never really capturing my attention. But I braced myself for the run I would have and began.

It seemed to take nearly twice as long as on the way back. Perhaps it was because I was going up the whole time or maybe because I had to take a route I was unusual with. It could have also been when I had to sidetrack a mangy cat that had been running around. Normally, I wouldn't have done so but wherever Norris was, Filch was sure to follow. I didn't have time to deal with the old man.

It felt like sharp knifes were digging into my sides by the time I reached the tapestry. So much so that I slid down onto the freezing marble ground, resting my back against the tapestry wall, trying to breath. All I did was wheeze air inside of me, staring at the blank stone wall on the other side for a few minutes. The cold stones cooled my burning calves, though.

I took this time to think. Dumbledore said I had to think of what it was I wanted. I wanted to save my mother from being killed but that wasn't going to work. It sounded like I needed to ask the Room of Requirement for something specific, with material substance. What I needed to do was ask the room for a time turner or anything that could turn back time but I couldn't be sure. So, I would first try asking the room for a time turner. If that did not work, I would instead inquire a way to get back in time. If that didn't, I don't know what I'll ask for.

Bringing my hand up to my face, I pushed sweaty hair away from my eyes and stand up, staring at the tapestry. It was a bit ugly with trolls dressed in pink tutus as Barnabas tried to get them to dance. Holding back a laugh, I began pacing back and forth of front of the drapery, closing my eyes tight. _'I need a time turner to go back in time. I need a time turner to go back in time. I need a time turner to go back in time.' _I paused mid-step, afraid to open my eyes and see that it did not work. Cautiously, I threw in one more just in case. _'I desperately need a time turner to go back in time.'_

Eyes opening, I had to readjust my eyesight to the darkened hall, light only by fire torches. But it was all the same. The same marble stone corridor with the same Barnabas the Barmy tapestry. There were the stairs down the corridor but no door. Hope fell and my heart began better. What did I think I was doing? Many people lost their parents, especially when they got older. Why was I so stuck on saving mine? Fear? Fear that I couldn't live without her? Was it the thought that she died before her time? Was it that I didn't want to be alone?

Gripping the ends of my skirt in clenched hands, I closed my eyes and followed the same path previously. It didn't matter why I was doing this. What mattered was how I was going to, if I could. _'I need a way to go back in time. I need a way to go back in time. I need a way to go back in time.' _I resisted the urge to say it once more. Dumbledore had only said three times, hadn't he? Maybe it made a difference. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes slightly, peeking through blurry eyelashes. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, throwing my fist in the air in exhilaration. Yellow sparks fluttered out of the wooden wand. "Bloody hell." The sparks lit the corridor a bit brighter, illuminating the dark wooden door that had magically appeared in front of the tapestry. I grinned. Magic. The wizards' equivalent of science. As the sparks died down, I heard a pitiful meow coming to the left of me and froze, heart beating up. I should have known better than to yell. Glancing down the hall, I saw her, just barely out of the shadows. It was hard to mix her with the other cats students owned. This one had missing patches of her and bare, ragged skin. She must have been terribly old and close to death.

The strange part was that she wasn't moving off to go find Filch. The only time she did that was when- I paused again as I heard the footsteps –Filch was on his way. I resisted the urge to mutter anything and dashed to the door instead. Twisting the door knob and pushing the door open, I slipped through and slammed it shut. "Blimey, don't let them in!" I begged to myself. Grabbing the wand and muttering a spell, I locked the door. That would only work against Filch, though. Any other person in Howgarts could get through with the help of magic. More needed to be done to keep the door locked.

And just as I thought that, a thin mist swirled around the edge of the door, solidifying into three dead bolt locks which locked the door tight. Grinning with my heart feeling lighter by the second, I turned around to look into the bright room. The room was bare and small but there was an elegance I couldn't understand. Without a hint of a light, the room was as lit as the sun itself, bathing in a gold glow. There were no windows, no curtains or decorations. There was just a small wooden pedestal with a small object on it.

My heart was beating fast and my head was spinning. Spinning so badly I could hardly move my head fast without feeling nearly faint. On their own accord, my feet slowly moved to the podium, light footsteps echoing on the tiny room until I stood before it. The golden object was so small, only the size of a pocket watch with a thin, long chain dangling from the pedestal. A hand sweaty from expectation touched the warm metal and grasped it. It was so warm, like a smooth pebble lying outside in the sun.

It felt strange against my cold hands but the texture was smooth and it brought forth warmth that I needed. Closing my eyes, I wished that this would work. I knew little about time turners but I knew you were supposed to place the time turner around your neck and turn it so that you could go backwards in time relevant to the time you needed to go back to. But the math to it was difficult to get right and that math was not something taught it Hogwarts. I was going off guesswork.

Placing the thing chain around my neck, the time turner swung down to my stomach and I flipped the lid open. Inside was one slender, nearly miniscule dial and nothing more. Grasping the dial, I turned it counter-clockwise a few times. I would have to go back a day. Maybe more. Merlin, who knew how long ago she had been dead! Days? I twisted the dial a couple more times to make sure I got it corrects. What if it was over a week? A week alone, her body decomposing and left to rot. The thought made me ill, made me want to retch. Maybe one more turn wouldn't hurt... Maybe more... I had to make sure I went back far enough to save her.

And suddenly, the dial yanked to a stop. Back or forth, it wouldn't move. Grasping the time turner tight, I tried twisting the dial any which way, trying to get it to move. My breathing became more labored as I panicked, trying to get the turner to work again but instead, my sweaty hands slipped off of the stuck dial. Useless.

"Shit!" I yelled into the empty room. The word echoed back to me, frightened, desperate and angry. Over and over until it disappeared into nothing. The time turner didn't work and then what did it do? It broke! I couldn't save my mother anymore. I was alone in the world and desolate. I had a chance to bring my mother back and I couldn't.

Screaming, I yanked the chain over my head, ignoring the strands that had stuck to it in the quick removal and threw it hard against the wall with sick satisfaction. I rejoiced in the loud reverberation of golden metal hitting wall. And then I succumbed to it. That overpowering sadness and anger at myself. Tears came streaming down my face, the strain causing my eyes to hurt and thick sobs coming from my throat.

I could have saved my mother but how could I go back in time with a broken time turn?

xxx

**It's been a while since I've written and posted something here. I was going to wait to post this until I had more chapters written and knew I was going to finish the story. I decided I needed the motivation, though, and perhaps some feedback. So, the first chapter is boring but, shrug. Here it is. Updates will be slow. The title will probably change, as well.  
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	2. The Little Bit Crazy One

**kaela**: You're absolutely right about that sentence but I didn't really know how to end the chapter. After your review, I went back and amended it slightly but still, I wasn't sure. I hope, in the least, I made it less confusing. Thank you for pointing it out!

Chapter Two

x

The Crazy One

Pretend everything is alright.

That mantra was what brought me out of that golden room and back into the hallway of Hogwarts some time later. If I pretended everything was alright, it was alright. It didn't matter that I lost my mother or that I was wandering the school with red blotched eyes in my crumpled uniform. I could pretend everything was alright. It didn't matter that wet tears had stained my white t-shirt with old black mascara or that my short hair was beyond unruly.

It didn't matter that everyone in the hallway was staring at me as they passed, avoiding me like the plague, opening a wide pass for me to walk easily through.

It didn't matter- ...Hell it didn't! Why were all these people staring? Baring my teeth, I walked away even faster from the crowds of students trying to go to class. Obviously, I was skipping today and the common room sounded like a great place to be until Professor Longbottom came for me. And so, that was how I arrived to the Fat Lady. A complete mess and totally unnerved by the number of stares I had received.

Even the Fat Lady stared at me. "My dear!" She exclaimed. "A proper lady should not be dressed and wandering about in such a way as you. Who knows what people would say?" I glared at her before muttering the password, expecting to be let in. She looked startled at me before going on. "What was that?"

"Mandrake!" I exclaimed, exasperated with how the day was going. I had a dreadful headache and my eyes hurt so much from crying so hard. All I could use was a shower and then I could sleep for days for all I cared.

"Well, what about them?" She replied back. "Shouldn't you be getting back into your dorm to look proper instead of dallying around chatting about random things?"

My mouth dropped. Sure, the Fat Lady got a bit drunk on holidays but never before had I been insulted. "The password!" I cried out, close to tears. "The password is mandrake! Now swing aside and let me in. I'm tired and you are wasting my time by refusing to open up."

The woman in the portrait looked as if someone had just threatened to rip her throat out with a blunt knife. "How dare you? The mandrake is not the password and how do you speak to me in such a manner! Girls these days! Acting like right hooligans! Lost all manners. What happened to be seen but not heard? Oh how I miss those days."

Of course. _Of course _the password was changed. That was her job but that didn't mean I liked it. "You just changed the password yesterday you crazy loon!" I yelled at her. It wasn't polite but it was nice to finally vent on someone. Plus, she had just insulted me! 'Seen but not heard?' What was this? The nineteenth century? "You can't just change the bloody password every bloody hour and expect people to know! Now let me in!"

The Fat Lady stared at me as if I was the crazy one. And maybe I was but Merlin, it was nice to piss someone off and yell. "The password's been the same for the past week. Now young lady, perhaps you should go back to your dorm room and have a lie down. Move along. You're holding up the line."

Now, I really was about to burst into tears. "I'm trying to get into my room but you're lying and won't let me through. Please, you just saw me last night, leaving with Professor Longbottom. He's the head of Gryffindor House! He can vouch for me. Can't you please let me through?"And with that, the painted woman gaped at me, not saying a word and behind me, I could hear a couple people mumbling. Probably complaining. The Fat Lady opened and closed her mouth before, looking hesitantly, she spoke.

"Dear," She said as kindly as I ever heard her. "I've never seen you before and the Head of House is Professor Dumbledore."

xxx

"...Started screaming at the Fat Lady..."

"...Never seen her..."

"...Nearly fainted on the spot..."

My head seemed as unfocused as my ears, unable to catch what anyone was saying and unable to do anything but lay down. My head felt so heavy and murky that all I wanted to do was sink deep into something soft and sleep. It was too hard to think straight or to sit up or do anything worthwhile. I could only wonder who these people were talking about and sleep.

Blearily, I opened my eyes, squinting to the harsh white light surrounding the area. So white, I wondered for a moment if this is what some afterlife was supposed to look like. All I could do was squint my eyes and look around. Simple white beds filled the hall in a familiar hall, startling me. Only three people stood in the room, close to my bed. Groaning, I tried to sit up when one of the people turned their head.

"Ah! It appears the mysterious girl is awake," He spoke but before anyone could speak more, a light was shoved near my eyes. All my sight was blocked by that single light. Fingers lifted one of my eyelids and I jerked away from the touch, blinded.

"Please follow the light with your eyes," A feminine voice sternly ordered me but I couldn't humor the woman. Sharply turning my head to the side, I closed my eyes, seeing spots in the darkness.

"Where am I?" I groggily asked, despite already knowing the answer and the growing pit in my stomach. Something went wrong. Feeling panic starting to rise, I gripped the starch white blankets in fists.

"First, we need to-," The woman snapped before she cut off.

A man's gentle, and so familiar voice, spoke up composed, "Ah, Madam Bones, perhaps we should speak with our guest and calm her before she panics again." A wave of nausea passed over me. It couldn't be. It just _couldn't_. I had spoke to him just hours ago but he was dead, for Merlin's sake. He'd been dead since my mother was a student in Howgarts. A disgruntled sound was made from the woman but promptly ignored. "How does that sound to you, Miss?"

Opening my eyes, I nodded, facing the fact I didn't want to face. Three people stood in front of me, all with graying hair but the woman younger than both. The male speaker looked different from the pictures I saw of him. Even with the shorter gray hair and beard, though, the sharp blue eyes and crooked nose gave him away. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

"Ah, splendid idea, Albus," The other man stated. In a way, he looked like Dumbledore. Graying hair with the, albeit shorter, beard. But there was frailness to this man that Dumbledore never held, though there was still some power resonating in the man's eyes. "After all, it's not often we have visitors mysteriously appear in Howgarts."

My lips twitched at the statement. I wondered if anyone mysteriously appeared in Howgarts, other than the Second Wizarding War. "I am Armando Dippet, Headmaster of Hogwarts. What did you say your name was and where you were from?"

"My name is," My head spun. Headmaster Dippet? I never heard of him. It was Bagnold in my fifth year. Before him, McGonagall but she retired recently. Then, I couldn't forget Snape. Everyone knew of him. He was one of the greatest spies against Voldemort in the Seconding Wizarding War. Then, so many years ago was Dumbledore. But I never heard of Dippet. This couldn't be real. "I'm Elisa Dobbs. I'm from London, England."

"Hm, I see," Dumbledore murmured. All three adults stared at me; Bones with her sharp glare, Dippet with his confused, aging face and Dumbledore with avid curiosity. "Madam Bones, could you perhaps check on the other student for a moment." The woman looked put off but straightened her white robes and briskly walked away, heavy steps echoing on the stone floor to another, curtained section of the hall. Apparently, I didn't get the same treatment. "The better question, Miss Dobbs, is how you got here."

They both stared at me and I realized how confused they must have been. A strange girl wandering the halls of a magical school that was supposed to be protected from outsiders. Except, I wasn't really an outsider. I came from within the school.

My dark eyes found the startling blue ones of Albus Dumbledore. The piercing feeling I felt with Dumbledore's portrait was even more increased in person, like all my secrets were known. The only upside to this was his genuinity. He seemed to really care and just seemed honestly curious.

"What day is it?" I asked faintly. Facts stared me in the face but I couldn't believe it without absolute undeniability. (Because really, a part of me spoke up in my head, a dead person suddenly alive doesn't count for much). The older man of the two, Dippet?, glanced at the younger one who stared intensely at me.

"September 4th, 1942. The term just started," The headmaster proclaimed.

The part of me that spent nearly every summer in the United States of America slipped out. "Holy shit." My head spun. This couldn't be right. I couldn't have possibly gone back that far.

Dippet looked aghasted, face paling with a gnarled hand to his chest. "Miss Dobbs, we do not speak like that in Hogwarts, especially from a young woman in these times." Just like the portrait to Gryffindor. Women are to be seen, not heard. This really wasn't some trick.

"Ah, but therein lies the trouble, Armando," Dumbledore stated, his keen eyes narrowing in on me. "Miss Dobbs, you are not from this time, are you?"

I closed my eyes and scenes flickered in my eyes. I had started screaming at the Fat Lady and when people tried to calm me down, I started screaming at them. They had stared at me as if I was crazy and maybe I was. Then, when a couple of the older students tried to restrain me, everything just stopped. I must have fainted then. I opened my eyes to see the two men still there, staring at me, Dippet looking horrified as if I was some monster.

"I was only trying to save my mother," My weakened voice said. "I..." Should I tell him that Dumbledore's portrait was how I found the time turner? Or would that imply to Dumbledore he was dead in my time, thus making him want to change the future? I had lessons on time turners before. Changing the past could create unforeseeable presents and new, and worse, realities. It was best to change as little as possible. "I only needed to go back a few days. Two weeks at most. Something happened. I went back too far," Tears started pouring from my eyes as I grasped the reality of the situation. "I'm from 2016! How will I ever get back?"

Dumbledore and Dippet stared at one another as I broke into sobs.

xxx

Soon, both the elder men left as soon as my proclamation slipped from my lips. In my panic, I forgot one of the most important rules of using a time turner. Never admit you're from the future. Right behind never allowing your past self to see your future self. (Nasty complications if your past self was to kill your future self. Or worse, vice versa). What did I get from revealing the truth?

Dippet had immediately demanded I be turned over to the Ministry of Magic. Something about law breaking and never had there been a case where a person goes over 50 years in the past. Dumbledore was more lenient, saying that the Ministry of Magic would only be concerned with finding out how a person could travel so far in the past and more important, if it could happen again and the consequences of such. Dippet disagreed and both men left to decide the fate of what would happen to me, telling me to just get rest and they'll determine what happens to me.

As if I was going to stick around. After crying in the hospital bed for a while, I decided enough was enough. The time turner got me here. That must mean it could take me back. Most time turners went only in reverse but most time turners couldn't go more than a year or so in the past. So, as soon as I was sure Madam Bones (though, it was hard to call her Madam when muffled screams hard started to come from behind with patient's curtain) was preoccupied with her student, I grabbed my wand on the bedside and got up.

I must have been wrong with the time turner. It got me here so it wasn't broken at all. If it didn't break when I threw it, that was. Perhaps I really was stuck in 1942. My face paled as I imagined what life would be like.

No technology like I was accustomed to back home.

No ability to be whatever I wanted to be, especially being female.

No freedom. I would be married off like property.

With visions of white wedding dresses, being a stay at home mother and popping out children like mice, I picked up my shoes and began lightly stepping onto the marble floor. Bones was too preoccupied with her patient behind the curtains to bother if I stayed in bed. So, I tiptoed past the curtained bed and past all the other empty beds. When I reached the corridor outside, I slipped my bare feet inside the old shoes and took off.

xxx

It was ironic in a way. I was doing the same thing I was just doing yesterday or early today or I don't know how long. Except it was nearly 75 years ago really. I was just sneaking my way through Hogwarts, trying to get to the Room of Requirement for the time turner.

Slipping into the dark halls, it was obvious it was nighttime. There were no students or professors around. There were only the occasional ghosts and the starry nights appeared from glass windows. My footsteps echoed in the dark castle and like this, I could imagine it was still 2016.

Everything appeared the same. It was the same castle, same portraits and even the same ghosts. There was even Nearly Headless Nick who no longer acknowledged me (but he was sort of pompous, though still kind, to begin with). Candles flickered as I climbed up the various stairs, remembering to skip the trick stair on the last staircase up.

I was on the seventh floor when I jumped out of my skin. Hushed footsteps pierced the silence in the castle, causing me to pause in my trek. I barely heard them since I was trying to hear everything going around and they grew louder as time slowly passed.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit," I mouthed, panicking and looking for a place to hide. But the corridor was empty, albeit a few statues and suit of armors. No proper hiding spot, even with the bare light of the candles. There were a couple of doors but they were too close down the hall, just next to the other intersecting hallway where the noises were coming from. The only way out was back down.

As I tried quietly hurrying down the stairs, I wondered, why do I bother? A teacher couldn't quite give me detention when I wasn't a student and even if they did, I would be gone before I even served it. On the other hand, they could easily turn me into the ministry before I even made it back to the time turner.

I screamed as my foot slipped deep into the floor and I fell forward into the staircase, causing my body to slam into the stone ground. "Bloody, fucking hell!" I yelled into the darkness as those same footsteps now came louder, running toward me. Pain erupted from my hands and wrists that saved my fall and tears of pain watered my eyes. But I couldn't move beyond that. I forgot the bloody trick stair in my haste. My foot was stuck deep in the magic of the staircase.

Ministry of Magic, here I come.

"Who's there?" A young man's voice called out, demanding an answer. Perhaps it was the fact that I was in a different time and knew no one or maybe it was that the adrenaline of trying to get away but I pushed myself backward from my sprawling position to a sitting position swiftly, one where my foot was still caught.

Whipping out my wand from the waistband of my skirt, I turned my head around quickly, just as a guy appeared at the top of the stairs, wand pointed outwards and light spilling from the tip. I aimed my wand at him as he paused, sensing the wand in my hand. "Who are you?" I ordered him to answer, heart beating fast. The light was pointed too directly at my eyes to look past it and really see who the guy was.

Out of nowhere, the light flickered from the wand and out of nowhere, my wand few from my hand and landed straight into the open hand of the male. Before I could stop myself from reacting, I gaped, feeling defenseless. The man dropped the wand to his side and walked down the stairs toward me. Without the light in my eyes, I could finally make him out. He was taller than me with dark hair, nearly black, neatly trimmed and parted to the side. Typical old style hair with high cheekbones and dark piercing eyes.

The thing was, though, old style or not, he was _cute_. Other girls would even say hot. I glared at him for startling me, for getting my foot stuck in the stair and for ridding me of my wand.

He looked at me as if I bored him. "Students are not allowed at past curfew nor are students allowed to use magic in the corridors, especially against prefects." Oh, Merlin, I wanted to roll my eyes. A perfect, bloody prefect. I grinned at him in mock humility.

"Really?" I asked. "Because it looked just like you used the Expelliarmus charm against me, uncalled for, I might add." My heart was still beating fast and without my wand, my hands began to sweat in nervousness. Discreetly, I tried rubbing them against the plaid skirt. A dark, narrow eyebrow rose. "You startled me. I had every right to pull out my wand in self defense, especially when I hadn't said a spell. So, how about you help me out of the stair and we both go on our ways, pretending this didn't happen?"

It was worth a try.

The guy just stared at me as if I was a bug. One to squash. I squirmed underneath his gaze. Maybe it wasn't worth it. Then, I noticed the uniform. I saw the dark green tie tucked underneath a sweater vest with green trimmed and a silver prefect jab gleamed green with the snake's symbol. Slytherin. Bloody slytherins. Sure, they got better in my time but they were still gits.

"Or you could tell me your name and house, take the detention or I can get the headmaster," The guy offered up and my smile fell. Stuck up, rule following git. He was out after curfew too. On the up side, Slytherins liked getting something out of situations.

"Look," I said, flatly. "I'm not even a student and I won't get detention. Go, get the headmaster," I bluffed. "But I can assure you that you won't get anything from telling on me." I didn't stop there, though, and I made a desperate attempt to get out of this. "Plus, come on. I saw how dark it was outside. It's way past curfew, including the time for prefects to make their rounds." At least, I was hoping because turning me in wouldn't be beneficial to him. Slytherins can be so malleable when you figure them out.

The prefect glared his dark eyes at me before they fell into a quick, disinterested look. "Not a student?" He questioned. His eyes scanned over me when his eyebrow rose. Again. "That looks like," He paused, looking me over all the way the top of my barely buttoned white top to the bottom of my feet where I wore black mary jane shoes with no hint of socks underneath . "Half a Hogwart's uniform."

Heat rose to my cheeks. I wasn't embarrassed at what I was wearing. Sure, it was a bit dirty and rumpled but where I was from, it was still clothes. Plus, I haven't really been in the mental state to care how I looked. I was embarrassed at the fact he was implying I was half clothed. Which also meant half naked.

But still, I was stumped. There was no real reply for my outfit besides _'Oh, it's cool. I'm a student from the future so you see, I can't possibly be a student now._' or _'Gosh, I was just joking. I really am a student. Sign me up for that detention!'_Instead, I stared at him, shrugging. Maybe he wasn't so easy to deal with.

His eyes never left me and the way his eyebrows furrowed left me believing he wasn't quite sure what to do. "What's your name and house?" The guy questioned me again. I only smiled and shrugged. I could work this to my advantage. He didn't want to go to the headmaster. "Fine," He spoke curtly. "Since you refuse to cooperate, I'll leave you to be."

The smile dropped quickly on my face as the Slytherin turned away, beginning to step down the stairs to carry on his way. Away with my wand! "Woah!" I called out, standing up awkwardly, facing him with my foot jammed into the stair the opposite way. Hands raised in surrendering, I tried to block the boy from leaving me. His arms crossed, the starched gray material of his blazer stretch over them, and he smirked, as if he got his way. "You can't just leave me! Taking my wand no less!"

"I can't?" He politely asked. "I was courteous enough to allow you to go on with only a detention but you refused to cooperate." My own arms crossed in defiance as I begin to glare at him. Courteous? If he was courteous, he would have gotten me unstuck from this damn stairwell. "I believe that punishment enough would be leaving you stuck in the staircase until someone else comes along to help you. And you refused to cooperate so I believe I'll hand this wand over to a professer."

He easily sidestepped me as his light footsteps began reverberating in the corridor. My body ran slightly cold at the thought of being stuck here all night. "Wait!" I spoke out but this time he didn't stopped and continued his stroll down the stairwell. Okay, Slytherin prick or not, this was really started to get painful and I wanted to go home. "Damn it! I wasn't lying! I'm really not a Hogwarts student."

Exasperation had started to set it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to scream or cry. My eyes were leaning toward crying.

Luckily, that got the boy to stop and turn around. Recognition flickered in his eyes. "I-I'm new around here," I stammered, making stuff as I went, faintly speaking. "I don't go here and I don't belong to any houses. I really wasn't lying about that."

"You're that girl people were talking about," He muttered and looked at me as if...

"_We live in the same building as her," A young, female voice said, travelling over to short distance to me. I stared down in the sandy grass, kicking my tiny feet into the ground, flicking a couple rocks up in the nearly abandoned park. The air was muggy in the nearly deserted park. "My mum says her mum is really sick. Barely leaves their apartment. I bet she's as crazy as her mom."_

x

"_You bloody bitch!" I yelled at the Fat Lady."Do I look in the mood for people's tricks?" Dumbledore couldn't be head of house. He was dead. Dumbledore was dead, has been for years. "Let me in my goddamn room!"The Fat Lady gaped and started to look wildly around._

"_Someone get Dumbledore!" She called out and whispering erupted from behind me, which I ignored._

"_Dumbledore is dead!" I shouted, pacing to the portrait until I stood inches away, fist ready to punch the woman, even if she couldn't feel it. "And you're frightening me! I want Professor Longbottom now!" The portrait screeched again and someone grabbed my arm loosely, swinging me around. Panicking, my arm swung around, aiming a punch toward the person and connected with something while the person shrugged it off._

"_Calm down!" A young male's voice spoke. "We're getting Dumbledore now. He can help you." I screamed in response of someone else going along with this horrible trick. " Let's just go to the hospital wing. I'll take you." The boy began to drag me away but I pushed away from her, forcing him away, shrieking in protest. That's when I saw the pile of people in the corridor, waiting to get into the Gryffindor's common room. _

_All staring, whispering, looking at me as if I was mental. My breath became labored, superficial, uncontrollable._

"I'm not crazy!" I said protested, heat rising to my face in embarrassment and anger. Or maybe I was just a little. I don't know what made me do it, though, but I felt good reason to add a lie. "Dumbledore knows where I'm at, though. You could always get him." Or at least, I hoped Dumbledore would go along if the prefect played my bluff. I doubted Dippet would. The pale boy stepped back up the couple of stairs until he stood in front of me. Even being on lower stairs, he stood well above me. But that may also have attributed to my foot being stuck in the staircase.

Then, something changed in the boy. He gave a polite smile, one you would give a teacher and inquired, "What is your name?" in sickly, sweet tone. Not that it wasn't polite because it was. Too civil, in fact than from before. It just seemed so fake. I gave him a questioning stare, too astonished by his change of mood to not reply.

"Elisa Dobbs," I muttered, doing my best not to look him in the eyes. This day was really beginning to give me a headache so instead, I concentrated on the uniform of the prefect. It was different from my time. Here, the guy wore a starch cotton gray blazer and pants. All perfectly crisp and clean. I nearly snorted at the thought of him purposely ironing his clothes. Probably some stuck up, ass kissing git. "And yours?" I mocked him.

Clasping his hands behind his back, the Slytherin gave a small, civil (and so obviously fake! Was I the only one to see it?) smile. "Well Miss Dobbs, I propose that I help you out of this stair and in exchange, we forget this," He paused for a brief moment. "Encounter ever happened. Do we have a deal?" Suspicion really snuck in now but it was either go along or wait for who knows how long until someone came along to help me.

Hesitantly, I nodded, "Deal," Until I remembered on thing. "But not without my wand!" I blurted out, abruptly. Oh, Merlin, he better not keep my wand! The boy only gave a condescending smile and dipped his head, looking particularly satisfied when I eyed the green and silver prefect badge again.

Realization hit me. He didn't have to go and get a professor to get information out of me. He didn't have to make up excuses for why he was up so late. He never gave so much as his name and I just made a deal to not remember this, meaning I wouldn't go tell a professor. "You planned this!" I nearly snarled. He put me in a position to where I would ask for his help and in exchange keep his secret.

His smile only grew more, into a smirk. "Planned what?" He questioned.

My mind screamed _gitgitgitgit_.

xxx

**Well, I wasn't sure how much I liked this chapter but I think it got better maybe? Sigh, it was supposed to be longer but I was in a hurry. So, the rest will wait. I hope it's better than the first chapter. My first chapters are usually only explanations to how the story sets out, etc. In other words, boring. **

**Um... I was wondering, if anyone was to like this story enough if they could beta for me? I hate rereading over my stuff and it would be nice to have someone tell me how the overall chapter looks, how characters are behaving, etc. Mainly plot overview. Shrug.**


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